


The Explanation

by writingisgiving



Series: Back In Star City [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Married Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Swearing, my take on the cliffhanger, post 7x22, sort of a fix it fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:37:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingisgiving/pseuds/writingisgiving
Summary: Oliver and Felicity explain what they've been doing for the past 25 years.





	The Explanation

Oliver kept his hands clasped in his lap, fiddling with his wedding ring. The ring had kept him sane in those 20 years without Felicity. There were times, at his darkest when he was all alone and fighting the same fight over and over again, when he wondered if he had made her up. If he had actually died on the island and this was his hell. If the 7 years he spent in Star City, falling in love with his wife and meeting his son and daughter, were just a culmination of some fucked up fever dream. 

But then he would look down at his hands, see the shining silver metal against his finger, and sigh as peace settled his heart. It was the only reminder he had of her then, of one of the happiest days of his life. It had been a small reminder of why he needed to keep fighting. The Monitor had told him that his death was inevitable but he had never been good at following destiny. And his efforts had been fruitful. Because somehow he had survived and come back. 

His eyes drifted over to Felicity, who was fluffing some sofa cushions. She had a bright smile on her face, one that didn’t reach her eyes. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands ran over each other, finding her own wedding ring and finding solace in the repetitive motion of tracing over it. 

When she walked closer to him, ready to fluff his own cushion, he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her down next to him on the couch. She grunted adorably as she went down, turning to give him a glare. But it was half-hearted at best and he returned it with a knowing look. He didn’t need to say anything, he knew that she could tell what he was thinking. 

“I’m fine, Oliver.” She said casually, hands spreading out over her thighs. 

“Since when do you care about sofa cushions?” He asked teasingly. He remembered when they had been in their old apartment in Star City, she would rearrange the cushions every time she had a Netflix marathon and it would be up to him to fix the cushions after she demanded that he carry her to bed. Neatness was never her thing. 

“Well, Mia and William don’t seem very interested in cleaning.” She commented, looking around the room. 

He laughed slightly. “They get that from you, hon.” She smacked his chest with her hand, glaring at him. He laughed harder which made her crack a smile. They got lost in the moment, enjoying the small moment of peace. It had become a habit over the 5 years of traveling from universe to universe. Their lives had been so crazy and hectic, that any moment they had together not spent fighting a war was treasured. Just to have something to remember in their most painful moments. 

“Alright!” William bounded into the room, breaking the moment. They both turned to him and watched as he set a variety of sodas on the coffee table. “I got everything we had so pick whatever you want. I tried to get some coffee but Mia broke the coffee machine a while ago and we still haven’t gotten it fixed.” William rolled his eyes at the last part, epitomizing the ever-suffering older brother perfectly. Oliver fought back a laugh as his mind flashed back to the first and only time he had ever asked Felicity to get him coffee. The similarities between Mia and Felicity were endlessly amusing.

Mia then entered, at a slower pace than William. She sighed at William’s words. “How many times do I have to tell you that it was an accident?” She complained, taking a seat on the opposite couch from her parents. William muttered a half-hearted acknowledgement before taking his own seat next to his sister. 

Mia then turned towards him, making eye contact for the first time since he’d come into the bunker two hours ago. 

“So, who’s going to start talking first?” She asked, as if she was bored with the conversation already. She was so much like Thea in that moment that he almost looked around, wondering if his sister had decided to join them too. Despite the fact that he hadn’t been in Mia’s life, he couldn’t help but feel like he knew her already. 

“I guess I should.” He finally spoke up, and sighed internally when Mia flinched, breaking eye contact. He might know her but she didn’t know him. He knew she needed time but it still hurt. 

He felt Felicity squeeze his hand, offering her silent support. He gave her a small smile before turning back to his children. 

“A year before you were born, Mia, I made a deal to save the universe,” he began. “William, you were still in boarding school at Cambridge. That was why we didn’t let you come home that winter break.” William nodded, and Oliver continued. He told them about how he had to make the deal for two other superheroes that their world desperately needed. He described how he didn’t know what he would be giving up, only that it was the only way to save their universe. His voice broke when he got to the part when The Monitor showed up to take him away. How he had only had a few minutes to say goodbye. And then he had left their Earth. 

“After that, The Monitor told me what I needed to do.” Oliver heard his voice shaking and fought to control it. The pain of leaving his family, of leaving Felicity crying on the floor, still felt raw. He had heard her desperate sobs every night he had spent apart from her, haunted by what he had given up. “He told me that there were 341 Earths that did not have a hero. He said our Earth was unfair because we had multiple. To restore the balance, I would have to save every Earth on my own as the Green Arrow. I would have to win a war on every Earth to make them safe.” 

He paused after that, checking to see if Will and Mia were still with him. William seemed to be frozen in shock, obviously not expecting the turn of events. Mia was more unreadable, a spark of interest in her eyes but also detachment, as if she was listening to some fictional story being told by a stranger. 

“The Monitor made it clear that I wouldn’t survive going through all the Earths. That eventually, I would die fighting the same war over and over again.” He felt Felicity’s hand clench around his own. He focused on the feeling of her hand, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin. “I somehow made it through 121 Earths in 20 years, but I was exhausted.” Exhausted was too small a word. He had been suicidal. He had wondered if maybe The Monitor had been trying to trick him by saying he would die in one of the wars. The wars had been difficult but predictable. He knew how to strategize and manipulate variables into gaining a favorable outcome. He had been doing that for years.  
No. The pain of war was nothing compared to the pain of being separated from his family, of having to live through every Earth alone. That pain ate through his soul. He spent every day wondering how his children were doing, if his wife was safe, if he would ever see them again. It had been the worst type of torture, far worse than anything the island had thrown at him. But he decided not to include those details, not interested in scarring his children with his horrors. 

But then he remembered where the story went from there and he turned to Felicity, smiling encouragingly. She weakly smiled back, tearing her eyes away from his gaze to focus on their children.

“That’s where I came in,” she said softly. “But my story starts a little after Oliver left.” Her eyes closed as she lost herself in the painful memories. Oliver saw the spark of interest grow larger in Mia’s eyes as she took in her mother. William just stared, waiting for her to continue with bated breath. 

“Almost a year after Oliver left, our wedding anniversary came up.” She twisted her ring with her fingers, gaze falling to her hands. Something like shame covered her features and Oliver fought down the urge to reassure her. He needed to let her do this on her own. 

“Nyssa was visiting then. She had been coming over a lot, just to talk. I didn’t really get why at first because we had never been close.” Her lips twitched slightly and Oliver knew she was thinking of his fake marriage to her. He suppressed an exasperated sigh. Even after all these years, she still doesn’t let him live that down. “But I was thankful for the support and she was very good at soothing you, Mia,” Felicity said wryly. Mia nodded, like this wasn’t new information. Oliver knew that Nyssa had trained Mia but he didn’t know that they had a close relationship. It was interesting information to keep in mind. 

“On our anniversary, I told Nyssa that I needed some things from the grocery store that was two hours away and I told her to take you with her, Mia, because I wasn’t feeling well.” She closed her eyes again, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back, trying to give her some indication of his support. Mia and Will sat enraptured.  
“As soon as you two left, I just went around the back of the house and started screaming.” She sighed heavily, finally looking at Mia. “I didn’t really know what I was yelling, just that everything hurt,” she paused slightly, breathing in, “and I just needed to see him, needed to talk to him so I could convince him that I needed Oliver more than any universe.” Her voice shook as she spoke and Oliver’s heart hurt. He had heard the story before but it still broke his heart hearing it again. He didn’t want to imagine the pain she had suffered. The pain he had caused. 

“I don’t know how long I screamed but then he suddenly showed up.” She took a deep breath in, steadying her words. “He told me that Oliver was never coming back, that he had made a deal and he wasn’t done fulfilling it.” She stared down at the ground and then softly whispered, “And I was just so desperate. So I told him to take me too.” 

Mia jumped up from the couch, stomping over to the window. Her arms folded tightly across her chest as she glared at the closed curtains, unnaturally still. William stared at the coffee table in front of him, not blinking. 

Felicity paused, waiting for Mia to take a seat again but Mia didn’t move. Felicity sighed before continuing. “Surprisingly,” she started, “The Monitor agreed. He offered to take me right then and there, reunite me with my husband and anchor me to the same deal that he had made.” Felicity looked over at Mia, who still refused to move. “But I said no. Not yet at least. I had a daughter to take care of.” Her voice softened at the word daughter but Mia didn’t budge. William still didn’t look at them, focused on the coffee table. 

“So he told me to call him when I was ready. And when I did, he would take me to Oliver.” Her gaze then turned to William, eyes pleading for him to understand. “I knew that I wouldn’t be ready until you both were safe. Because I love you both so much.” Her voice broke as tears formed in her eyes. William gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Mia still didn’t move from her perch but her arms uncrossed. “I didn’t know if I would ever be able to come back once I left so I needed to make sure that you two were together and were well out of harm’s way before I left.” 

Mia let out a small, mocking laugh. Oliver’s heart sank at the sound. He could already tell what was coming. “That actually explains a lot of my childhood,” she commented airily. He could hear her attempt to erase the hurt from her voice, her attempt to build walls around her heart and block everyone out. 

Felicity just watched her sadly. “I love you and William more than anything. Absolutely anything.” Her gaze turned towards William, willing him to understand. “But I needed to do this. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t take the chance.” 

William nodded slowly, looking like he was lost in thought. Felicity took that as a sign to continue. “Once we took down the wall between the Glades and the city and stopped Galaxy One, I knew that you two didn’t need me anymore. I knew that you two were strong enough to keep each other safe.” She then turned towards Oliver, and he smiled reassuringly. Her voice got stronger as she looked at him. “So I called The Monitor and told him I was ready.” 

“And then you just left?” William asked, angrily. “You told us that you were going on a special journey but you didn’t tell us that the journey was in another universe,” he accused, voice biting. 

Felicity sighed. “I know it’s hard to understand but I needed to try.” William just huffed and nodded sourly, resuming his staring contest with the coffee table. 

Oliver, sensing that Felicity needed a break, took over. “I was actually in the middle of a gunfight when Felicity showed up.” He didn’t mention how he had thought he was hallucinating when he had seen her. How he had almost started crying right in front of ten deadly gunmen. “I’ve never fought through a group of men that fast before and when I finally got to her, I couldn’t believe she was real.” He laughed slightly, remembering the look in her eyes when they had finally seen each other again. It had been 20 years but when he looked into her eyes, it had been like no time had passed. 

“I was so angry when I heard about the deal.” He turned his head to look at her with disapproval, still not happy with the fact that she missed out on five years of a normal life. But she just smiled cheekily.  
“But it ended up working out,” he huffed, acquiescing. Oliver would never understand how Felicity could always just make the world fall at her feet. 

She smiled at his words, playing with his hands. “We ended up going through the rest of the 220 Earths in five years.” Pride colored her tone and he couldn’t help but grin at her stupidly. He had always known that they were a good team, they had fallen in love while being a team after all, but the look on The Monitor’s face when he realized that they had fulfilled his deal in 25 years had been immensely satisfying. He had surrendered graciously, and told them that the only Earth that needed them now was their own. 

“And then you came back?” Mia asked quietly, still staring at the curtains. Oliver watched as she clenched her fists, a myriad of emotions flitting across her delicate features. He couldn’t tell what she was feeling, if she was upset or disappointed or angry. Not for the first time, he wished that things were different. That her face wasn’t unfamiliar to him. 

“Yeah baby,” Felicity sighed. “We came back and as soon as we did, we came here.” She got up from the couch and made her way to the window. Mia didn’t look at her, still glaring at the closed curtains. Oliver watched as Felicity wrapped her arms around Mia’s shoulders, hugging her tense form from behind. Something pricked in his chest when Mia’s shoulders automatically dropped at her mother’s touch and she turned into Felicity’s embrace, a sob escaping her lips as she buried her head into Felicity’s neck. Her arms came up to wrap around Felicity, squeezing tightly as she cried. 

Oliver couldn’t help but look away from the sight. His chest felt tight, like he couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs. Distantly, he recognized the feeling for what it was. Jealousy. And then promptly felt stupid for feeling it. He was glad that Mia and Felicity were close. He always knew Felicity would be an amazing mother. 

But the fact that his daughter refused to make eye contact with him for longer than 10 seconds but was falling into Felicity’s arms for comfort…it hurt. The feeling clawed at his throat, settled into his stomach like it belonged there. 

“Dad?” Oliver heard William ask. His head snapped up to look at his son. William’s eyes were red and guilt washed over Oliver for not noticing his son’s tears sooner.

“Yeah, buddy?” Oliver cleared his throat, willing the uncomfortable feeling to go away.

“You’re staying now, right?” William’s voice was cautiously hopeful, like he was preparing for a rejection. Oliver’s heart broke for the millionth time. 

“Yeah, buddy,” he affirmed. His eyes drifted over to his wife and daughter, who were still locked in their embrace.

“We’re not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo yeah. I have no idea if this is what they're gonna go with in season 8. Probably not likely since I can't figure out how Barry and Kara would fit in. But I like the idea of Felicity and Oliver fighting together. They've always been a good team and I have no doubt that they would kick ass at whatever they're doing in the other universe. 
> 
> This will continue! I have a lot of ideas about Oliver and Mia's relationship and will definitely explore it in this verse.  
> Let me know what you think! Thank you for all the kudos' and comments, they mean the world!!


End file.
